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| Ron applies gentle pressure to slow a running grunter |
Fishing With Ron Gallo!
It was a miserable Thursday morning in July, cloudy and overcast when I met up with Ron Gallo at Portsmith to fish the Inlet.
We’d been talking about a trip out together for a few months and I know that Ron’s favourite stomping ground is the Cairns Inlet,
and has been for the past sixty years. He’s probably forgotten more about fishing than many will ever learn but he’s always
willing to pass on a few tips and help aspiring anglers.
He once owned and operated ‘Purcells’ Tackle Shop in Cairns, which was well before the emergence of Bransfords and Erskines.
He’s told me stories of how he used to go out and castnet most of the night to provide fresh bait for his customers - how’s that
for dedication. As competition became fierce it was time to sell up and Ron found work with the City Council which wasn’t a bad
move as it gave him much more time to pursue his favourite pastime.
As an inductee of the Bransfords Fishing Hall of Fame Ron knows his stuff and has contributed so much to the local fishing fraternity
over the years. Ask him about Lakefield or Edward River and his eyes light up before he talks in raptures of some of his fondest
memories fishing out bush, and he still makes regular trips to these parts.
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| This is the way to hook up a dead bait, cutting the stomach open allows the scent to escape |
When it comes to tackle knowledge he knows the guts from first hand experience! He makes some superb lures, builds and fixes rods
and gets stuck into reel repairs like a bull terrier. I’ve often heard his beloved wife Jean, (they’ve been married over 50 years),
make mention that ‘Ronnie will do anything for anybody, he’s such a softie’. And that’s true he is a gentleman, and a pity there
aren’t more like him around these days.
I’d been looking forward to our session in the Inlet! Ron told me he preferred a gentle run rather than too big a tide and the water
has to be reasonably clean. As we made our way up near the top of this vast waterway Ron pointed to a small snag near the mangroves
that was slowly being exposed as the tide fell. “This has been a good spot for me over the years, Les (Faithfull), and I have caught
some good sized grunter her recently. Want to give it a go?”. I saw the water was only a metre or so deep but readily agreed.
Watching this guy put a bait on his hook was an education in itself. Using a long shank 5/0 he threaded the dead sardine through the
back of the dorsal fin so the barb was well exposed halfway down the body then cut the stomach open to let out the scent. I’d never
seen this done before, always preferring to thread the bait from the gills. Ron explained that most fish take a bait head first and
this method gave a better hook up rate, and I soon realised how right he was!
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| Not a bad grunter for the Cairns Inlet. It’s still a very good fishery. |
Both casting in towards the snag, slightly out on the flats the bites came thick and fast. Grunter to 1.5 kilos, bream to 0.75 kgs
and the odd toadie just to keep us honest. In the next hour we would have caught well over a dozen good fish between us, not a bad start.
Another thing I learned from the master was how he held his rod. Ron prefers baitcasters and holds his rod horizontally in front
of him. Keeping his finger and thumb on the line he free-spools his bites before setting the hook. This is a great way to allow the
fish to pick up the bait without feeling any resistance. You just never stop learning in this game, especially from anglers as
experienced as Ron.
As the tide dropped below a certain point we moved to a nearby creekmouth that had clean water, a current line and about 1.5 metres
of depth. Pro active fisho’s always move with the tide knowing that certain species are present at different places at varying times
of the incoming and outgoing tide. Again Ron was right on the money as we pulled several grunter/bream and even a pesky catfish or two.
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A feisty barracuda was first to jump on Rons F1.11 gold lure.
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Before the run slowed too much he suggested we go luring up the back blocks of one of the larger tributaries. Again experience paid
off as we fished gutters and drop offs that held newly run fish from the draining mangroves. Ron’s first was a feisty barracuda taken
on an F1.11 slow sinking lure, then a steady run of bites from jacks, cod and trevally.
As the tide bottomed out we tallied up over two dozen fish for the session with around 7 different species.We took half a dozen fish
for the table and the rest were gently released to grow a bit bigger. There would be little interest until the tide began to run in
so we called it a day, and what a top day I had. It’s always a pleasure to fish with our local legends and Ron Gallo is certainly a
top guy to fish with and one of the best anglers around.
Ron asked me if I’d like to do it again sometime, and we will!
Boat Test Trophy 2902 Walk-around, by Anthony Davies. - "Trophy Hunter" is yours truly's reef basher, this article was
published in August 08, reprinted here for your enjoyment!
Trophy’s website proudly proclaims “# 1 Walk-around on The Planet” I’m not sure how you’d go about proving such a claim, but it’s certainly
true that Trophy’s flagship 31 footer is highly regarded in this country. You have to look awful hard to find another boat in this class that
so successfully combines offshore seaworthiness with a fishing friendly walk-around cabin and genuine overnight accommodation for three
adults. The fact that the 2902 is also legally trailer-able is another reason for its popularity; marina berths aren’t getting any cheaper.
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| all pictures courtesy of trophyfishing.com |
The owner of the test boat, Clifton Beach tackle store proprietor Keith Graham, does keep “Trophy Hunter” in the water; but he hauls her out
on his trailer at regular intervals for do-it-yourself hull cleaning and other maintenance. The advantages of being able to do this at one’s
own convenience are obvious, particularly in North Queensland. Marinas up here have an “everybody out!” policy whenever a cyclone threatens,
and it’s often a frustrating wait to get your boat put up on the hard by the overtaxed haul-out facilities. It adds insult to injury if the
blow fizzles out, as they do more often than not. You’ve still got to pay for the haul-out and re-launch!
I’d brought my boss Gary along as crew; it’s not really appropriate to test a boat of this size one or two up. The 2902 will sleep 3 adults
comfortably – 2 on the convertible V berth forward and one (or a brace of little tackers) on the ¾ bunk tucked away under the cockpit sole,
but the boat could easily accommodate double that number for a day trip. Performance figures should be taken with a reasonably full payload
aboard.
Keith already had the twin Mercury Verado 225HP outboards running when we got to the boat, the big four strokes were almost eerily quiet in
the early morning stillness. A twin motor system makes sense safety –wise on an offshore watercraft; it also makes manoeuvring in and out of
tight marina berths much easier.
The electronically synchronised Mercs idled in gear at 550 revs; the GPS showing just under 2 knots as Keith negotiated the marina traffic.
Weather wise it was Cairns’ first half decent Sunday in many weeks and a lot of boaties were keen to get out. Marinas aren’t my strong point,
especially when someone else’s boat is concerned, so I was happy to let Keith steer us into the clear. Once in the channel proper we accelerated
to 1600 revs for a moderate troll speed of just under 6 knots or about 11 km/h.
At this speed the two motors only use around 10 litres of fuel per hour; ideal for a skipper who spends a lot of time trolling.
The Trophy eased onto the plane at 13.5knots and just over 3000 rpm. The morning land breeze was standing up a nasty half metre chop at 90 degrees
to the rolling metre plus south easterly swells left over from yesterday’s bad weather. We got the boat up to 30 knots and the ride was still quite
bearable, but in the interests of fuel economy and a trio of middle aged backs we throttled back to 23 knots - around 4 grand on the digital tacho.
At this speed the Trophy cut the chop sweetly without any jarring or slamming on the bigger swells. The substantial flare at the bow worked well in
deflecting spray, in fact the boat‘s screen and clears stayed dry for the entire test.
The hydraulic steering was feedback free and I had no difficulty holding the boat on track in the confused and variable sea that the settling weather
was producing.
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| all pictures courtesy of trophyfishing.com |
Keith is a fan of Furuno electronics and the Trophy’s modest dash was absolutely full of large screen GPS and sounder units. A factory fitted
electronics option was the Mercury “Smart Craft System View” a digital monitoring unit that can give readouts ranging from engine revs and running
hours to depth sounder and GPS navigation functions. The fuel flow meter was particularly interesting; at 20 knots the motors were using 65litres
of fuel per hour but at 19 knots the fuel flow dropped to 58 litres, more than a 10 percent reduction in fuel use for only a 5 percent reduction in speed.
By the time we arrived at Keith’s ‘honey hole’ reef mark the sea was starting to flatten out; just what you need for a day’s offshore fishing.
Access to the anchor was easy courtesy of the walk-around; even a big fellow like Gary had no difficulty negotiating the wide walkways. The
electric winch fitted meant the anchor was dropped manually and retrieved under power, which suited my dodgy back just fine. Keith’s custom made
stainless reef pick bender impressed me, much better than a length of water pipe and a scratched deck!
Fishing for the day was slow for the Reef; we picked up one or two decent fish off each mark, requiring frequent shifts. The current was such
that we all had to fish one side of the boat, the Trophy’s wide chines and large flat hull area under the cockpit ensured the boat stayed level
and stable even with over 300kg of fishos shoulder to shoulder. Of course one of us could have fished from the bow, but we had plenty of room and
access to the large high “bench top” formed by the transom covering board and the livewell lids was perfect for cutting bait and filleting. This
six-footer had no trouble fishing over the outboards with my 2metre reef jig stick; but it may have been a bit of a reach for shorter fishos.
We were plagued with small pickers all day, a couple of fusiliers ended up in the livewell as the day wore on. These sweep-like reef baitfish
are perfect live baits for big Spaniards, sadly no such beasties put in an appearance. Gary and I did manage a couple of snodger golden trevally
nudging the 10 kilo mark; but it was skipper Keith who scored the fish of the day, a lovely 4 kilo coral trout. By late afternoon one of the two
underfloor fish boxes was almost full with a mixed bag of trevally, trout and other reefies. Gary caught an unusual looking Lethrinid snapper
that Dr Ben later identified as a “Yellow Lip Emperor”; amazing how you can fish the reef for 50 years as Gary has and still pull up something
new! The bigger fish required a few minutes fight time and the Trophy’s padded gunnels provided excellent support for the angler’s legs.
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| all pictures courtesy of trophyfishing.com |
We left the reef an hour or two later than intended, with the sea now glassy calm it was time to see what the 2902 would do with 450 horsepower
on the back. The boat popped out of the hole in an exhilarating instant and the speed quickly climbed to 36 knots at just over 5000 rpm. The fuel
flow meter told a sad tale at this speed, 220 litres per hour! Even so, with an 825 litre fuel tank the Trophy could cover 135 nautical miles in 3
hours! A few seconds at a flat out 6000 revs turned up almost 40 knots; I was too busy hanging on to the wheel to check the fuel flow!
Throttling back to 23 knots again reduced fuel flow to around 70 LPH, extending the boat’s full tank range to over 280 nautical miles!
The smooth trip back gave me a chance to check out some of the Trophy’s interior fittings. Fit and finish throughout was excellent, as you would
expect on a luxury US made boat. The V berth at the bow converts to a lounge / table dinette configuration and the mini galley and head were a
little cramped but perfectly adequate for the purpose. It really was remarkable how so much could be crammed into the confines of a walk around
cabin on a hull less than ten feet wide.
The 2902 can be ordered from the factory fully optioned with most desired fittings as a “turn key” package with plumbed livewell and fish boxes,
pressurized fresh water to galley sink, cockpit shower and hand basin, electric cooker etc, etc, in fact the only extras locally fitted to
“Trophy Hunter” were the winch (thank you Keith!), Furuno electronics, outriggers, clears and the hardtop extension and rocket launchers. The modest
hardtop fitted as a factory option isn’t adequate for NQ’s tropical sun. Keith pointed out that the stainless extension had been bolted directly to
the original aluminium hardtop frame, a recipe for galvanic corrosion. He’d solved the problem by applying TekGel at all contact points; this nifty
product is designed to prevent the corrosion caused when dissimilar metals come into contact with each other.
I struggled to find any negative points about the boat. The fish boxes are below the waterline and have to be pumped out; this is only an issue if
the boat stays in the water. The deck drains are rather small and in my opinion would be inadequate if the cockpit was swamped. Of course it’s best
to avoid this occurrence! I didn’t like the through - bowsprit anchoring arrangement, a fairlead that opens and closes would allow easier access
when changing anchors; a common task with NQ’s variable bottom conditions. And there were no transom mounted rod holders, a strange omission on a
dedicated fishing boat.
I was more than happy with the Trophy 2902 Walk-around as a package. bThe planet’s Number One Walk-around? Maybe. In my humble opinion the 2902 is
certainly up there with the best.
Technical stuff:
LOA 9.56 m
Beam 3m
Draught (max) 750mm
Min. power 200 hp single outboard
Max power 2 x 250 hp outboards
Approx boat/motor weight as tested 4174 kg (plus fuel & water)
Fuel capacity 825L, fresh water 115L.
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| all pictures courtesy of trophyfishing.com |
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| all pictures courtesy of trophyfishing.com |
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| all pictures courtesy of trophyfishing.com |
Read all Keith's Old Fishin' Yarns HERE!
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Fishing News
